


Made Brilliant by a Glorious Star

by spirithorse



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-30
Updated: 2013-11-30
Packaged: 2018-01-03 01:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1064243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean had met other stars that had been like Marco, burning hot and fast before dying young.  (A SnK/Stardust fusion AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Made Brilliant by a Glorious Star

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Jeanmarco Week 2 (from Nov. 24-Nov. 30) for the prompt Marco's freckles. Title taken from a quote by Lucinda Franks

When Jean had first met Marco, he had been struck by the dark spots on the man’s face. On a star, such dots would be a death sentence, marks of sections of their bodies going cold and losing their glow. Considering the multitude of dots on Marco’s face, he would have been at the end of his life. Jean had met other stars that had been like Marco, burning hot and fast before dying young. He remembered mourning them when they passed and remembering them as he glowed at night. And he remembered worrying about what the spots meant for Marco.

That wasn’t entirely true, but Jean didn’t want to remember the time that he had  _hoped_  that Marco was the human equivalent of those stars, burning bright and dying young. That had been when he was impatient with the human, ready to watch him die because he had  _dared_  to think that Jean would allow himself to be hauled off to some far off place and just be given away like he was nothing more than a possession, a fancy bit of stone like the necklace that had toppled him from his place in the sky.

That had been before a lot of things, like the witch and the Scouting Legion. Before Marco had won him over with his smiles and his steady nature. Before he had found out what the spots on Marco really were. Before Levi had kicked him in the shin and reminded him that these things don’t last forever, except the exact wording had been less clear and Jean had to think over what the corporal had meant before he had even begun to figure it out.

Before they had reached the last town before the wall and Marco had shyly suggested that they stay the night because there was no rush.

And that had made Jean’s heart beat faster, because Marco had always been focused on rushing back home to his town on the other side of the wall. Jean hadn’t ever paid much attention to the explanation, first because he hadn’t cared and then because it had hurt.

Jean didn’t want to think about the girl that was waiting for Marco had home or Marco’s dreams of becoming a soldier. He had seen what being a soldier had done to a Scouting Legion, how quickly they had died fighting the monsters that wandered the earth. From what he had heard from Marco, there weren’t any monsters on his side of the wall, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Things could still happen. He had never expected to fall out of the sky, but it had happened. That proved that anything could happen.

Jean looked over as Marco shifted in bed, smiling at the human rolled onto his stomach. The blanket had slid down Marco’s back, exposing his shoulders and the freckles that ran across them. Jean smiled to himself, resisting the urge to trace patterns in them. He had done that with his tongue earlier while Marco had writhed underneath him. He chuckled at the memory, earning a weak slap from Marco.

“Quiet. ‘M sleepy.”

“Sorry.”

Marco hummed, his hand stroking along Jean’s thigh. He turned his head to look at Jean, a smile on his face. “You’re glowing.”

“Am I?”

Marco nodded, sitting up in bed and leaning back against the headboard. “It’s kind of bright, brighter than I’ve ever seen it.” Jean smirked over at him, Marco groaning and pressing his hands over his face. “No. Don’t do that. Jean….”

He laughed and leaned his head against Marco’s shoulder, the only apology he could think of, especially while Marco was still refusing to look at him. Jean turned so he was curled around Marco’s side. “Don’t do what?”

“That.” He felt one of Marco’s arms slide around his shoulders, Jean tipping his head back to look at Marco. “If you keep doing that then I’ll want to…” Marco blushed, the flush making his freckles stand out more. “I’ll just want to keep you here.”

“Why don’t you?”

Jean was sure that he had messed up by the way that Marco tensed. He winced and looking up at Marco, ready for the reminder of all the things he had been trying to forget that was to come.

To his surprise, Marco just sighed and stared up at the ceiling, his face no longer lit by Jean’s soft glow. In fact, the glow had disappeared entirely. Jean glanced down at his body before sighing and pulling away. He shouldn’t have pushed, especially when he had known what was going to happen.

Marco had come looking for him to prove that he was the kind of person that the Military Police wanted and to give his girl something special. Marco hadn’t stopped talking about either of those on the way back to the wall. Jean had heard everything about the perfect life that was waiting for Marco beyond the wall, how he was going to get into the Military Police, get married and serve the king. It was the perfect life, the one that Marco wanted. There was no room in there for a star that had been pulled from the sky.

If anything, Jean belonged on this side of the wall, where there were monsters and magic because he didn’t think he could exist in Marco’s world.

He pulled away from Marco, throwing the covers back from himself. Their clothes were scattered all over the floor, Jean swallowing harshly at the sight of their things intertwined. There was nothing that he could do about it, they had both made their choices. Marco had a life on the other side of the wall and Jean…Jean would find something to do. He wouldn’t be getting back to the sky any time soon, as far as he knew they had exhausted their Babylon Candle. Maybe the Scouting Legion would be willing to take him in considering their fatality rate.

Jean went to pick up his pants, stopping when Marco grabbed onto his wrist. Jean sighed and tugged weakly at the hold, closing his eyes when Marco tightened his hold. “Marco, let go.”

“No.” He was tugged backwards a step. “Jean, just listen to me.”

“What?”

Marco let go of him, sitting back in the center of the bed. Jean sighed and tuned around, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for Marco to speak.

For a while they were both silent, Marco playing with the covers. He finally grabbed fistfuls of covers and looked up at Jean, speaking quickly. “It’s an arranged marriage.” Jean jerked backwards, Marco sitting up on his knees. “What’s waiting for me at home is an arranged marriage. Hannah and I have known each other since we were kids, she’s like a sister to me and she’d actually probably prefer to marry Franz over me. I would only have to go back to tell her, just so she and Franz have a chance to make plans. Other than that…I would love to stay.”

“Marco-”

“I  _want_  to stay, Jean”

“What happened to the Military Police? Serving the king?”

Marco looked taken aback. “What happened to wanting me to stay?”

“I do, but…it’ll be safer”

“There’s something for me to do here.” Marco chuckled and looked down at the covers. “Eren told me about everything that the Scouting Legion does, and I could help here.”

“Jaeger told you?” Jean took a step forward, wanting to do nothing but strangle Eren. Of course the idealistic idiot had talked Marco into the Scouting Legion’s crusade. He should have known better than to let Eren get close to Marco.

Then again, there was a brief sense of hope, because it meant that there was a reason for Marco to stay. And that was a relief.

He edged closer to the bed, resting a hand on it and leaning over. From that angle, he could look right into Marco’s eyes. He wanted to concentrate on them, but his attention kept getting distracted by Marco’s freckles. Jean swallowed and reached out to trace over a patch of them on Marco’s right shoulder.

In the Scouting Legion, Marco would burn brightly and die young, and it would kill Jean to see that. But he was too selfish to actually want to let Marco go.

Jean sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, bumping his shoulder against Marco. It took a moment for Marco to lean into him, Jean relaxing at the touch. Marco was warm against his side, comfortable like living in the sky with his brothers and sisters had been. Except Marco was closer when they had always been distant. He nodded to himself, reaching down to rest his hand over Marco’s.

It was the closest to an apology that he could get, but Marco seemed to figure out what he was saying. Marco sighed and leaned more against him. “I’ll go back tomorrow and give Hannah the news. Then I’ll be back, promise.”

Jean nodded, turning his head so he could kiss the top of Marco’s head, watching as Marco’s freckles were lit up by his glow.


End file.
